Five
by Mami-21
Summary: 'I want five. This is a big favor, beautiful. I want five in return. Five favors. From you. Whatever I want. Whenever I want. I say jump, you say how high. You get the idea.'
1. Chapter 1

**Story contains a little bit of bad language, as I recall. I'll change the rating if it gets any worse in further chapters. (If you're easily offended, consider yourselves lucky, you should hear me when driving.)**

**This is an idea that just popped into my head, it's kinda silly and fluffy and tongue in cheek, so I'm writing it mainly to entertain myself during little breaks from writing other stories. Takes place independent of my other fics, which also take place independently of each other. JA, hints of JP. Maybe more, who knows?**

**Also - I know some readers are really knowledgeable about hockey. And good for you, guys, that's awesome. I, however, know little about hockey. ****This much****. It's not even played in my country! So, although I try to keep things as straight and realistic as possible, if I use the wrong terminology or write something that doesn't quite add up? Let's just save time and remember this is fiction, and also assume that I do not particularly care. Hey, after all, I'm pretty sure 'roping' is not an actual penalty either ;)**

**Hope you enjoy.**

**Prologue**

It's two periods down, one to go. Our third game of the year, and we're excited as hell 'cause we're truly kicking ass. Conway, our fearless leader, has delivered a really unnecessary speech designed to lead us to a well-earned victory, we'd all screamed appropriately, and now we filed back out to the hallway leading to the arena.

I didn't even have to tell anyone my name and where I came from.

I stopped at my locker and stripped off my soaked bandanna, tying on a fresh one.

'Hey.'

Julie Gaffney had ducked under my arm and popped up straight in front of me, behind my locker door. Nice move.

Jules was the only player dressed in her civvies. A nasty sprained foot had benched her for this game and probably the next one too. Poor girl was devastated ('But I can still catch!') but had sucked it up and assigned herself the position of unofficial assistant Coach while she was out.

'Sup, Kitty?' I chucked her under the chin. 'Ready to cheer me on?'

'Sure. Can I talk to you real quick?'

I looked at the locker room door as it swung shut behind Kenny Wu. I'm all for conversation with cute girls, but the game was calling.

I'm about to ask if we can do this later, but she's biting her lip, worried.

Julie isn't just a bona fide cutie. She's my teammate. Even a friend.

'Uh... yeah, alright. Can we make it quicker than quick?'

'I need a favor,' she stated quickly, straight to the point, staring at me. Her eyes are a really nice green but right now they have a creepy intensity.

'Shoot.' I leaned on the door, eager to get back out there and show the scouts in the crowd exactly who was dominating this game.

'It's a big one.'

Does she not realize time is a little short right now?

'Ok, spit it out, sweetheart.'

She's still hesitating. She checks again to make sure we're alone. I lean closer, getting a little fascinated in spite of the urgency.

'What is it, Jules?'

She tells me. Two minutes later, we've got ourselves a deal and I'm heading back to the ice.

Julie 'The Cat' Gaffney now owes me five favors. Five thumping big favors, and the time, place and details of these favors are to be decided at my discretion. Nice.

All I have to do now is fulfil the task I've promised her in return.

I can't help smirking as I burst out onto the ice. I take my time, wave to the crowd, making my grand entrance. They love it. I love it.

I can see Julie in the bench, next to Orion. Her cheeks are flushed. She's watching me intently.

_Let's do this, Catlady._

**Chapter One **

**Julie's POV**

Saturday morning dawned bright and beautiful. The flea markets were calling my name. Cheap paperbacks and takeaway Thai food awaited.

I got up early and completed all my homework in my pajamas. Showered and dressed in jeans and a bright blue sleeveless top. Tied my hair up with a matching ribbon.

I opened the door to skip out to the bus stop and yelped as I collided with something solid.

'Oh, shit! Dean. Sorry.'

'S ok.' He smiled wide at me, hands in pockets. 'How you doin'?'

I smiled back. 'Great. So... whatcha doing this fine day?'

'Mmm...' he gestured to me to walk with him. 'I got kind of a problem.'

'What's that?'

'I'm getting pale.'

'Huh?'

He inspected his biceps critically. 'An hour playing no-shirts side on the courts should help. Maybe a little nap in the sun. Unfortunately, Mrs Bitchface Bryan is inspecting our rooms today. Me and Fult, we... live hard. Ours ain't gonna pass, and that means we're on restricted curfew.'

A feeling of foreboding entered my stomach. Oh, no. 'So...'

'So.' He stopped, leaning against the wall with a smile I knew he thought was charming.

He held up one finger.

I groaned. He had to be kidding.

He led me the whole way to his room, hands firm on my shoulders.

I think he was worried I was going to bolt.

I should have.

**Favor No. 1**

Portman unlocked the door to the dorm room he and Fulton shared and swung it open with a flourish.

I'd seen their room before. They kept it really dark.

Now, I could see why.

There were band posters hanging forlornly off the walls. Neither bed was made. In fact, one had no sheets at all, just a bare mattress with a crumpled blanket. Where were the sheets? Both desks overflowed with sports gear, stacks of CDs, rubbish and even the occasional lonesome book buried somewhere at the bottom.

The carpet was potentially clean. But it was so strewn with twisted clothes, soda cans, magazines and other crap that it was impossible to tell.

And it all smelled like the musky scent of sweaty boys, mixed with aftershave, covered once again with sweat and masked with heavy deodorant.

I took one step in, and clapped my hand over my mouth to hold back a gag.

'Oh, my god.'

'What?' Portman poked his head in. 'I sprayed for you.'

'Sprayed _what_?'

'Lynx Africa. What, you want more?'

I turned to him. The horror of being stranded in this pit of filth must have shown on my face, because he started chuckling.

'Do not leave me here.'

He smiled wide. Held up the one finger again. Waggled it teasingly at me.

And shut the door.

Before I could sink to the floor and sob, the door swung open again.

'Oh, my laundry's in the gym bag. Well, some of it. And Fulton's is... y'know, around.'

'You expect me to do your _laundry_?'

He grinned wide as he closed the door. 'Don't forget the fabric softener, princess.'

**Portman's POV**

I had to hand it to the lovely Miss J when I returned to the dorms.

She'd taken the task of Favor No. 1 to heart.

I'd never seen our room so clean since the day we'd taken it over, and probably not even then.

Our posters were taped up straight and even. The beds were made up with fresh sheets, smoothed out with that hotel perfection. There was a neat stack of clean laundry on the end of each bed. The blinds were raised high on the sparkling window. We actually had a decent view of the quad, I realized for the first time.

I sniffed a t-shirt critically. She'd remembered the softener. Good girl.

Hey, I like a baby-soft cotton as much as the next badass.

There was nothing but carpet on the floor. It looked freshly vacuumed. Where the hell had she found a vacuum? Was there one available for our use somewhere? Huh.

I checked out our little bathroom. The floor tiles were bare of clothing. The shower was gleaming. The shampoo and soap lined up neatly. It smelled lemony fresh.

'Amazing...'

I took the opportunity to trial the shower, then dressed in some clean shorts and flopped down on my perfectly smooth bed with a Sports Illustrated from the neat stack on my bedside table.

I could get used to this.

The door opened.

'Hey, Portman, we totally forgot the inspection-'

I hid a smirk as Fulton entered slowly to survey the sparkling wonderland that we now called home.

'Dude! You cleaned?'

I shrugged modestly, flipping a page. 'We suck at curfew, brother.'

'Whoa! Look at this place... is that laundry? You did my laundry?' My roomie was going to catch flies if he didn't shut his mouth soon. 'Oh man, are you serious? Should I just marry you now?'

'Not until you start putting out, bitch.' I slid down on the bed comfortably, basking in the praise like a lizard in the sun.

'Wow, man, this is incredible. Did it take you long?'

'It took awhile, yeah.'

'_Shit_, this is awesome. No, not shit!' Fulton flopped on his own bed. He beamed at me like a kid on Christmas morning. '_Sheets_!'

'Only the best, bro.'

'Where'd you get 'em?'

'Classified. Can't tell you that.'

It was true. I couldn't tell him that, seeing as I had no answer where Jules had scored the new sheets from.

'Thanks, dude.' Fult smiled wide, reached over with a fist to bump mine. 'Love your work.'

We both relaxed back in the new luxury.

'No problem, man. You know it's your turn next time, though.'

'Oh, for sure.' Fulton was quick to agree. 'Fair's fair.'

**Julie's POV**

I immediately got back in the shower when I returned to my room, over two hours after I'd left with high hopes of a sunny Saturday morning.

I _had_ to shower.

I felt unclean.

I tried not to think about the things I'd seen.

The fact that I had handled Dean Portman's unwashed clothing. All. Of. It.

The more disturbing fact that I hadn't found any underwear at all on Fulton's half of the room. That mental image was hard to shake.

Under the beds... my brain tried to just shut down.

The magazines.

The rotten apple that had squished under my fingers.

The tissues. Oh, god. _The tissues_.

I used half a bottle of body wash. I even re-washed my hair.

As I was towelling off, there was a knock on my door.

_Oh, no_._ It was him. _No way was I going back there.

I considered pretending I wasn't home. I tucked the towel around myself and paused behind the door. '... Dean?' I called hesitantly.

There was a moment of silence. 'Uh, no. It's Adam.'

_Thank god_. Without thinking, I threw open the door in relief.

'Hi.'

'Afternoon...' Adam Banks was waiting outside my door, tall and athletic in sweats and a perfectly taut t-shirt. He smiled at me quickly, then his gaze moved politely away.

'Oh.' I looked down at my towel. Wow. Smooth move, Gaffney. 'Sorry. I just got out of the shower,' I explained unnecessarily.

'No, that's fine. I... I figured that.'

I closed the door a little for modesty, although it was probably too late. 'So... um, what's up?'

' I'm just heading out for a run. I thought I'd stop by and see if you're up for it.'

Fresh, clean air. A good long run. Adam Banks.

'Actually, that would be... awesome. Give me two minutes?'

Adam nodded. 'Sure. I'll go warm up.'

He smiled at me over his shoulder as he headed outside.

_Caution. Spending too much time in the nasty fug of the Bash Brothers' domain can cause severely limited brain capacity, resulting in opening the door to one of the cutest guys in school __**in your towel**__ oh dear god Julie..._

I pulled on gym shorts and a navy tshirt and sneakers, pulled my damp hair up into a ponytail and jogged out to join Adam.

Despite the disgusting morning, maybe this Saturday wouldn't be a total write-off after all.

Adam was stretching out, one hand on the brick wall of the dorm building. I tapped his back playfully and jogged straight past. It felt good to stretch my legs.

He took up the challenge and caught up to me fast. We headed towards the track together. We'd jogged together a few times recently, and usually went for distance rather than speed. Today, though, I needed to move, and I made Adam keep up with me.

'Running away, or towards?' he asked me after a minute with a teasing smile.

'Away. Definitely away.'

He shot me a questioning glance, but I just grinned and put on an extra burst of speed.

**You like it? Hate it? Whatever, review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, so, there's finally an update to this story! I hope to be posting more soon after the holidays are over. But for now, Merry Christmas! Hope you enjoy reading.**

12pm Monday

It was Monday. It was packed with Eden Hall students, slowly coming to terms with another school week after the glory of a sunny weekend, gone too soon.

'Hey, Gaffney.' Dean Portman jogged to catch up with Julie Gaffney as she made her way through the busy hallway to the cafeteria. 'Nice work.' He smiled down easily.

Julie gave him a wary glance in return. She knew exactly what he was referring to, but it seemed weird to come right out and talk about it. 'Thank you,' she finally replied wryly.

'Seriously, you could do that shit professionally.'

'Well, that's my long-term career goal.'

He snickered. 'So where'd you score the extra sheets-'

'Shhh!' Julie frowned, grabbing Dean's arm and hustling him over to one side of the hallway until their teammates had passed.

He smiled down, bemused. 'Little shy?'

Julie folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. 'Let me make this clear. If anyone gets wind of our deal, it's off. Finito, done, over. Ok?'

It was bad enough that she was so indebted to Dean Portman. Having everyone know about it would be truly unbearable.

He held his hands up innocently. 'Just asking a few questions, Jules. Geez, calm down. You freak out like that every time I talk to you and everyone'll know something's up. Just... be cool,' he urged, pushing her shoulders gently to get her walking again. 'Relax, no one knows what we're saying. C'mon, I'm hungry.'

Julie allowed him to usher her through the doors. He was right, unfortunately – acting secretive was only going to let their friends know there was a secret to hide.

'Ok, so, what did you want to know?' she asked reluctantly, her voice low as they joined the end of the lunch line.

'Where'd you score those new sheets? On Fulton's bed?'

'They were in the laundry room.' Julie eyed the lunch selection, looking for a healthy option. There was a bowl of big, fresh-looking oranges - her favourite.

'What, like... lost property?' Portman surveyed his sweet-faced teammate sceptically as she carefully selected a piece of fruit. He considered asking how she managed to get through the day on bird food, but thought better of it.

'Well, not exactly. They were in the dryer. Someone just left them in there. And... I needed the dryer. So the sheets had to come out.'

Portman snickered in glee. 'And you just- took them.'

'Like I said. They were left in the dryer,' Julie explained evenly. 'No one came in for them while I was washing every single piece of clothing you own. So I... borrowed them.'

She'd spent her entire Saturday morning cleaning the cesspit of a room that the Bash Brothers called home. She didn't have time to wait for some sleepy student to wander in and remove his spare sheets from the dryer. You snooze, you lose.

_Seriously? _That was kind of awesome. Portman watched as Julie chose a chicken salad roll to accompany her orange, and then added a chocolate pudding to the double fries and pizza slices on his own tray.

Julie considered asking how he stayed so fit when he ate like a pig, but thought better of it.

'Fulton thinks I did it,' he confided to her with a broad grin, hefting his tray.

'Oh, and you just let him believe that?'

'Well, yeah.' He made a show of considering, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. 'Guess I _could've_ told him that our good friend Julie just decided to swing by and clean our room for us.'

_Touché... unfortunately_. Julie frowned darkly at him as they left the cashier and headed to the Duck table, which just made Portman grin wider. It wasn't often he got to render her speechless.

Their conversation had made them late - there was just a couple of spare seats left, at opposite ends of the table. Julie was not devastated to see that they were parting ways.

'Um, ok. Talk to you later.' _Much later._

'What, you don't want to sit with me?'

If she didn't know just how much Portman was enjoying this, she could almost have believed that he sounded sincere.

'Julie. Hey.' She was saved by Adam Banks, gesturing at her from the far end of the table. He tapped the table to indicate there was a seat free.

'Oh, look, there's some people. Gotta go, bye.'

Portman followed her gaze and snorted ungracefully, heading towards the other unoccupied seat.

He waited until she was nearly at her chair, a little smile growing on her face, and Banks was clearing room for her lunch tray on the crowded table. How considerate.

'_Yo, Gaffney_!'

Julie's head jerked up at the shout and her eyes widened as every head at the table, and a few nearby, turned to look at Portman.

_He wouldn't. No. He wouldn't dare._

Portman grabbed an apple from Fulton's tray and took a huge bite. He chewed thoughtfully, swallowed, and finally leaned back in his chair.

'Talk to you soon,' he called to her casually, innocent smile in place. No one could do 'innocent smile' quite like Dean Portman – he'd had many years and numerous opportunities to perfect it.

_That asshole._

Julie forced a matching casual smile in return and sat down in a hurry.

Their weird interaction hadn't gone totally unnoticed – Adam's smile was a little puzzled as he glanced back toward Portman.

'Everything ok?'

'Yep. Fine. Great.' Julie took a deep breath and exhaled. She looked up at the ceiling to calm down.

If Portman decided to spill the beans – and he wasn't the most reliable guy in the room, or even at the table – she was screwed, screwed, screwed.

Much more then the public humiliation, she did _not_ want the whole story coming out.

Something landed on her tray. She looked down at it, and then up at Adam, who was smiling sheepishly.

She smiled back, worries slipping away.

He'd bought her an orange, too.

**Wednesday 10pm - Julie's room**

Just one more chapter...

Julie smiled guiltily to herself as she turned to the next page in her book. She knew she should turn off her bedside lamp and get a decent night's sleep, but when she had a really good book, it was too tempting to continue.

'Last one,' she decided firmly to herself, and settled back to enjoy.

From outside, there was a sharp whistle.

_Huh._ Julie's gaze flicked up briefly._ Whatever_.

Something hit her window with a dull thud.

'What the-' Julie jumped and twisted in her bed.

'Gaffney!'

Her name was sort of half-shouted, like someone wanted to be heard without... wanting to be heard.

'Yo! Hey, is this your window? Which one's you? They all look the fuckin' same in the dark...' the voice mumbled.

_Oh, no._

Julie closed her eyes briefly, then clambered out of bed and hurried to the window, pushing it open.

'Dean?'

'Oh. There you are.'

A tall, dark figure on the grass below grinned up at her, hands in pockets.

Julie had a brief, crazed thought of the two of them as some kind of twisted Romeo and Juliet scenario.

'_What the hell are you doing_?'

It was dark, but there was no mistaking his obnoxious little chuckle. 'What the hell are you _wearing_?'

Julie glanced down at her pajamas. So the soft blue Garfield pajamas weren't exactly glamorous. But they were warm and comfortable, and could she help it if people were constantly giving her cat-themed gifts? 'My jammies,' she told him flatly. 'Because it's bedtime. Go. Away.'

'I have a better idea. Listen-'

'Can you at least keep it down!' she hissed.

Portman stepped closer to the window, so close that Julie could have reached down and patted his head if she'd felt so inclined.

She did not.

'It's Wednesday night,' he told her blankly, as if that explained everything.

She frowned incredulously. 'Oh, right. Wednesday. So...?'

'Party tonight.' He clapped his hands briskly. 'Put on somethin' sexy, we're going out.'

Julie's mouth fell open, but she couldn't find the appropriate words.

She shut the window carefully and closed the blinds vigorously. That should cover it.

He must have jumped up, because there was a solid thud on the window. And then another.

'Stop it!' Julie hissed, yanking the window open again. 'Shut _up_, you're gonna get me in trouble.'

Portman grinned up triumphantly. She had no idea how much trouble she was already in.

He still had four favors to go.

He held up two fingers.

'No way. It's a school night. I'm not going _anywhere_.'

He raised his brows. 'What, you forgetting our deal already?'

Julie hesitated. She cast a longing glance at her warm, safe, inviting bed.

'C'mon, Jules, Fulton bailed on me. I just want someone to come hang out for a little bit. One favor, done. That's all.'

It was never, ever a good sign when Portman sounded innocent.

'Why me?'

'Why not you? Why we having this discussion?' he held up the two fingers again triumphantly, skewering the air like a referee making his final decision.

Julie sighed, her eyes fluttering shut in incredulous resignation.

It could be worse. It was better that they use up all his favors before it was time for his room inspection again.

'One hour,' she warned wearily, closing the blinds again.

Six minutes later, the blinds opened again. Julie leaned out, grabbed the outstretched arms held up to her and jumped down quickly, striding away from the building fast.

As she walked, she could sense a critical gaze on her shoulders.

'Favor or no, if you keep gawking at me I'm going to floor you.'

Portman snickered at that. He could tell she wasn't impressed about being torn away from her warm bed and comfy little 'jammies'.

'Kinky. Hey, you could've taken a couple extra minutes, y'know. I would've waited.'

Julie glanced down at her favourite faded jeans and puffer jacket. She'd pulled the clothes on, yanked the band from her hair so it spilled out over her shoulders, and considered herself dressed. 'What's that supposed to mean?' she asked suspiciously.

'Well, we are going to a party. I said 'sexy', not 'Siberia.'

'Oh, screw this.' She stopped dead and turned to head back to the dorms.

'No, no, hey.' Portman caught her hand, pulled her back swiftly and threw his arm around her shoulders. He grinned down. 'I'm kidding, lighten up. Come off it... you know you're totally cute.'

Julie made a half-hearted snarl face in return, to prove just how cute she was not feeling.

'Where's your other half? Why isn't he getting dragged out here?' she complained. Fulton was the designated Duck to deal with Portman's partying activities, not her.

'Like I said. Total killjoy. He went home for the night.'

'Really?' Julie's brows shot up.

'Yeah, it's a good week for his mom. She's cookin' dinner and everything. Wants her baby boy back home for the night.'

Fulton could enjoy that while it lasted, in Portman's opinion.

'Well. Ok, that's nice for him,' Julie admitted begrudgingly.

'No, not really. You ever tasted his mom's food?'

Julie laughed, to her surprise.

'Where are we going, exactly?'

'You'll find out. Relax. It's not far.'

Twenty-five minutes of walking did not count as _not far_ in Julie's book.

The house was large, but not obnoxiously so. More well-appointed then grandiose.

'Who lives here?' she asked curiously as they crossed the lawn. The house was lit up, but there were no obvious signs of what she would have considered Portman's signs of a good party. She could hear music, but not thumpingly loud enough to wake the neighbours.

Portman didn't reply, just nodded at the front door as it opened.

'Jenkins...' he greeted the tall guy in the doorway.

'Portman, what's up?' The guy grasped Portman's hand. He was tall, solidly built with a ruddy complexion and a well-worn baseball cap. He nodded to Julie. 'Hey. I think I know you, right? I'm Ryan.'

Julie took the big hand she was offered, smiling a little at the formal, courteous handshake. 'Julie.'

'Oh, of course you are. I think we have... Calculus together? You sit up front.'

'Yeah, you sleep in the back,' Julie agreed, and Ryan ushered them inside the foyer with a short bark of laughter.

'Pretty much, pretty much. You caught me. Come on in, grab some drinks.' Ryan pointed to the kitchen, pointed to an open door across the hall to indicate they should follow and disappeared through it.

Portman made himself at home, snagging a beer from the pile on the counter. He held one up and wiggled it at Julie. 'Beer?'

She smiled and shook her head. 'Coke's fine.'

**1am**

Julie swung her arms thoughtfully as they walked back to the dorms.

The night hadn't been as bad as expected. Not too bad at all, in fact. She hadn't known what to expect – something along the lines of squealing drunk girls, Portman doing a nudie run, a bunch of cheering frat guys hoisting her into the air for a keg stand.

But the party had been pretty relaxed – only about fifteen people, most of whom she'd seen or spoken to at school, just lounging around or taking turns playing DJ, talking and laughing, maybe a little louder and longer as the beer supply dwindled.

She'd talked a little bit with a couple of girls she'd seen before in class but never spoken to, and had been surprised at how friendly and welcoming they were. A few people had danced, in a silly, playful kind of way.

As they strolled back towards school, despite the chill in the air, despite the late hour and the definite shit she would be in if they were caught out.. Julie was actually feeling kind of relaxed.

'So...' Portman eyed Julie; she seemed thoughtful. He finally gave her shoulder a little punch. 'Not a total waste of your time?'

'It was good,' she agreed easily, seeming surprised. 'Not what I was expecting. Ryan seems like a nice guy.'

'He's a good guy,' Portman was quick to agree. 'Yeah, decent person.'

'How do you know each other?'

'Just started talking at the gym. He plays football, you know that?'

'Yeah, he mentioned the team.' Julie exhaled, looking up as they walked. The night was clear and crisp and the sky was crowded with stars. She realized it had been a long time since she'd seen them, and it made her feel good to look at the huge, silent sky.

'It's nice out here,' she said quietly, more to herself.

Portman heard. 'You had a good time, right?'

Julie shrugged, smiling down at her feet.

'Come on... admit it. You had just a little fun, right?'

She shrugged again.

He grinned. 'More fun then sleeping in your little cat jammies?'

'I wouldn't go that far. But, yeah,' she admitted, looking up at the wide open night's sky again. 'It wasn't too bad at all.'

'It's good to get out, right? I hate being boxed up inside all the time. I never stay in at home, I like to get out of the house. They bring us here and they just expect me to stay in their school all day and then that little tiny room all night. Like it's prison. Like going outside is such a crime. I can't fuckin' handle it... I have to get out sometimes.'

This all came out in a rush, and Julie considered her answer as they walked. Their curfew was reasonable. 'You can't just... you know, be outside before we're due in for the night?'

'Nothing ever happens. All the good stuff happens at night. I don't want eyes on me when I'm trying to relax. There's always someone watching here.'

That was true enough. Privacy was at a minimum when you lived on campus.

Suddenly, Portman swooped and crouched down in front of Julie, holding his arms out behind him. 'C'mon, jump on. I'll give you a ride home. Be your royal chariot and shit.'

'No, I'm fine.' She insisted as she stopped dead, laughing a little at the sudden chivalry. 'It's really not that far now.'

'Yeah, but like... I'm offering.' He looked back, raising an eyebow. 'So why not? '

'Cause-' Julie looked around for a reason, and found none.

Portman was already straightening up, though. 'Cause someone might see us, right? Cause someone's _always_ watching, and if they saw us, everyone else would know that you were hanging out with me alone, right?' he stepped closer. 'And what would do that to your rep, huh, if people thought you were hanging out with me alone?'

Julie folded her arms and stared at the ground. She pressed her lips together, trying to think of something to say.

Because he was exactly right. People would talk if they were seen out together, and rumors would grow, and it wouldn't affect Portman whatsoever. But she would have a lot of questions to answer.

'You scared?' he asked quietly, rocking back on his heels.

'What, of you?' Julie's gaze shot up angrily. 'Don't be ridiculous.'

He raised his arms and let them drop. 'Some people are.'

'Some people don't know what a massive dork you are under all the muscles,' she shot back. 'I wouldn't go running off alone with someone I didn't trust, would I? Even if it is a stupid thing to do, being out tonight, I know that... I know you, you know, wouldn't let anything hap- _God_. _Shut_ _up_.'

Portman looked a little appeased as they started walking again slowly. 'But out here, there's no one watching,' he told her, with a look like he was trying to explain himself. 'See, if I did that at the school, you'd have to worry about what people might say. But when you run away with me-' he grinned as she rolled her eyes. '- It's just us, and who cares? It don't matter at all. Do what you want.'

Julie nodded slowly. She could see his point – the school grounds were ahead, and there were a few lights on. Once they stepped inside the boundaries of Eden Hall, social standards existed once again.

'I always thought you just did whatever you wanted anyway,' she told him quietly, looking at her feet.

'Yeah, not half.'

She considered that.

'Is the offer still open? _'Royal chariot and shit'_?' she asked teasingly.

He shrugged. 'Maybe.'

She stopped, waiting.

'Uh-huh.' Portman chuckled, cocked his head. 'I already got down on my knees for you once, girl. You can just jump now.'

'Fine,' Julie huffed, as she placed her hands on his shoulders and leapt up, a pair of strong arms catching her securely. 'Any more hoops for me to jump through tonight?' she asked sarcastically, kicking him lightly as they trudged back towards Eden Hall.

'Not _tonight_, no.'

'Great.'

'But...' he glanced back and smiled. 'I'll be letting you know soon.'

'Oh, wonderful. Can't wait.'

**Thanks much for reading, please review ;)**


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